- Hey guys, this novel coronavirus pandemic
has truly affected all of us across the globe,
but one of the hardest hit communities
has been healthcare frontline workers.
This means doctors, nurses, CMAs, respiratory therapists,
technicians, custodial staff, and so many more.
Today I'd like to take a focus and celebrate doctors,
in memory of those who've laid down their lives
in the battle against COVID-19.
I sat down, and I interviewed over 100 physicians
to get their take, their experiences,
and learn their perspectives about the coronavirus.
Know that all the revenue generated from this video,
AdSense, donations, and even merch sales, link down below,
are all going to the CDC Foundation
to help continue this battle against COVID-19.
The first question I asked these doctors,
what do you think is not getting enough attention?
- I wish there was more credit and awareness being given
to other members of the healthcare teams,
aside from just the doctors and the nurses.
- Techs, transporters, housekeeping, kitchen staff,
valets, operators.
- X-ray, laboratory, radiology techs, EMT, janitorial staff.
- Cafeteria workers, the respiratory therapists, the nurses,
and everyone else here on the frontline is
towards our abilities to do our jobs.
- The number of doctors and healthcare professionals
out there who have gotten seriously ill,
even lost their lives fighting this disease.
- Some healthcare workers have been disciplined for speaking
up about the lack of personal protective equipment.
- Testing is an area we need a huge amount of focus on
and attention on in the UK.
- We need antibody tests.
We need to know who has immunity.
- In many communities, the small number
of cases being reported is simply a reflection
of lack of testing.
- How coronavirus is and will affect certain communities,
our homeless community, our community of people
with special needs.
- The domestic abuse and domestic violence that is happening
during a pandemic with victims being in the same home
as perpetrators for longer periods of time
in this quarantine.
- We've limited and cut the number
of visits a woman can have before she delivers.
- Visitors, family, really no one is allowed to be
at the bedside when you're infected with COVID.
- If you look closely, you will see that
there are young people, who are otherwise well,
who can get seriously ill.
- We can't really see the emotional toll
that the outbreak has on us.
- The effect that this is all having
on our mental health and well-being.
- Mental health problems don't stop
just because we are having an infectious-disease pandemic.
- I've had patients who haven't been able
to get cancer surgery, who've had significant heart problems
and not been able to get them worked up.
- If people who now feel sick from cancer
are now discouraged from going to hospitals
because all the attention now is on COVID-19,
then we're gonna miss some of those patients.
- Right now we're postponing all the non-urgent cases,
and when things are lifted,
we're gonna see everyone come back all at once.
- How is one supposed to date in this point in time?
Are we just supposed to get to know people
by Zoom and FaceTime?
- Yeah, virtual dating is a thing now.
For my next question, I asked, what does it mean
for you to be a doctor now?
- It means a 30-minute decontamination routine before I get
to hug my kids every time I come home from the hospital.
- Practicing medicine during this pandemic means
what it always means, protecting the vulnerable.
- This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to boldly fulfill my oath and desire to save lives.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has me in a place
where I have never felt more connected to my profession.
- I have an opportunity to step up and really honor my oath.
- I really feel like it's a privilege for me to be able
to practice medicine during the pandemic.
It allows me to serve my community
when my community needs me most.
- I'm old enough to have lived through the early years
of the AIDS epidemic, and it had a similar feeling.
You knew you were in the middle
of something incredibly important.
- My mother gave me a magnet a long time ago that said,
"Not all heroes wear capes.
"Some of them wear stethoscopes."
- I'm not running away from it.
I'm running toward it.
- We're ready, we signed up for this, we took an oath.
- It's a privilege to be a part of the solution.
- It's an honor to care for patients and their families and
to help navigate them through these very challenging times.
- Medicine is a calling and a vocation.
I've never viewed it as a job.
- This isn't a job.
This is a calling.
- I couldn't agree more.
Next I asked, how have you been personally affected
by the coronavirus?
- When we put a breathing tube in for a patient,
which we have to do for almost every surgery,
we're really exposed to everything that's
in that patient's mouth or throat or airway.
It's like looking down the barrel of a gun.
- I'll be moving out of our house soon
and into some place that's closer to the hospital
and where I won't risk infecting my own family.
- Should I move out, should I isolate within the home?
- I haven't seen my mom or my dad or any family members
in the last few weeks.
- I have some sick family members.
I don't know when I'll see them next.
- I wasn't able to kiss my wife on our anniversary this year
because of coronavirus.
- My beautiful wife and I are about to bring new life
into this world, and with that comes fear, worry,
and anxiety.
- Both of my daughters work with me here
at the Cleveland clinic.
I'm worried for the family, but we're gonna do this.
- My entire family lives and practices
a self-care survival simile, and when I read
in the news that 2,027 physicians, as of yesterday,
have contracted the virus and many have died from it,
it gave me chills.
- I recently got sick with a lot
of the features of COVID-19.
Without testing, I've got no way of knowing
if I had it for sure.
I don't know if I'll be infected again.
I don't know if I'm going to infect my patients.
- I did get corona.
I was actually sick for two weeks, had pneumonia,
and it was probably the worst health experience
that I have ever been through.
- I developed a fever and a lot of the COVID symptoms.
When I ended up in the emergency room,
all I could think about was when I recover,
will this make me immune so I can get back out there?
- For the first time ever, lately,
I've been having the sense of uneasiness
as I drive into work.
- I've personally seen a lot of death that I don't know
if residency could ever prepare you for.
- Because our pain clinics closed down last week,
and before I'll be transitioning to telemedicine soon,
there's still a gap where I will be unemployed
as a pain management fellow,
and that leaves me financially unstable.
- So I'm still paying rent, overhead, staff, supplies,
all of the above with basically no income.
- I'm a physician on O'ahu, and it's challenging caring
for my neighbor island patients on Maui and the Big island.
- Hydroxychloroquine has been getting a lot of press
during this pandemic, and the availability
of this medication has been a big concern for myself
and for my patients.
- I've been forced to delay important heartbeat
and heart rhythm procedures for several of my patients.
- I lost childcare, so my toddler keeps barging
into all of my appointments,
and that's probably a HIPAA violation.
- Hey, I can relate.
Bear walks into some of my patient visits too.
Next I asked, how can we help from home?
- Believe it or not,
not everyone is taking social distancing seriously.
- The virus doesn't spread on its own.
People spread the virus, so you are on the frontline
in this pandemic.
- Even small indulgences, like going to a park
around other people, can have huge consequences
that you don't even feel in the moment.
- Treat every outside contact
as something potentially infected, no matter how healthy
or safe someone or something looks.
- This thing does not care what you look like,
how much money you have, or how wealthy you are,
so you have to stay home.
- No cheating.
I know it gets really boring at home sometimes,
and all you want to do is just be with your friend just
for a minute, but please, for our sake, stay home.
- Stay home.
That's how you fight the virus.
- Get comfortable, and stay there.
Netflix and chill.
YouTube and thrill.
- Please, please, please stay home.
Help us help you.
- Help me help you.
- Stay hydrated, get some sleep, eat healthy, don't smoke,
and please do some exercise while you're at home.
- Here's my prescription for you.
Stay home.
- We are not stuck at home.
We are safe at home.
- Safe at home, not stuck at home.
And please treat everyone with kindness.
- Everyone knows someone who is putting their life
at risk by working during these difficult times.
Just send them a thank you.
- Continue sending positive vibes and continue reaching out
to those who are in their support system.
We need their help.
- And just be kind to each other.
Everyone's having a hard time.
- Physical distancing is crucial,
but it should not cause social isolation.
- Call or FaceTime your friends, your family,
your significant others.
- The virus mainly infects through mucus membranes
of the eyes, nose and mouth, so even if we wear gloves
and we wear masks, if we touch our face,
we can still get infected.
- Washing your hands, and no I'm not just talking like
oh, wash, wash, wash, and you're done.
I'm talking a full 20 seconds.
- Wash your hands.
- Wash your hands multiple times throughout the day.
- Really diligent hand washing.
- Wash your hands.
- And as I say to my five year old, don't pick your nose.
- Be wary of the browsers and the pickers
at the grocery store.
You know I'm talking about, those people that are picking
up avocados and putting them right back.
- By being very careful of your internet hygiene
because spreading false information can be deadly.
- Everyone has a role to play in making sure
that we spread correct information.
- Stop spreading misinformation on social media.
I think this is very important.
- Just following credible media outlets.
Don't give in to the hysteria.
- The top thing on my mind, is remembering
to stay flexible and lean into uncertainty.
- Have those difficult end-of-life discussions.
You will feel at peace knowing your loved one's wishes,
whether the time comes tomorrow or a decade from now.
- Ask neighbors to put up a red piece of paper
in their window if they need assistance immediately.
A yellow piece means I need help, but not urgently.
And green means things are okay.
- And please know that when the scientists
are saying these things, we're not saying them
because we're out to get you.
We're saying them because we care about you.
- That's right.
We're on team you.
All right, my final question, what gives you hope?
- It gives me goosebumps when I think
about what you see around you.
- The doctors, nurses, social workers,
respiratory therapists, environmental services.
- Each and every one of us is doing what we can.
- It's the fact that I have a great ICU team.
I have the best ICU nurses in the world.
- The unity, the compassion, and empathy.
- Humanity exists, and we're all in this together.
- I live in New York City, and every night at 7:00,
the entire city breaks out in cheer and applause
for all the healthcare workers.
(crowd cheering and applauding)
- I'm hearing from families who are having
more family meals, more family meetings,
they're playing board games, they're communicating,
they're talking.
- People are coming together, and they are helping
out their neighbors.
- Letters like this in my mailbox from my neighbor,
spreading love across this country.
- Every patient that I called,
the first thing they asked is how was I doing.
- The outpouring of love and support
from communities all around the world,
showing their support for healthcare workers, like me,
on the frontline.
- All of our frontline workers, in hundreds of roles,
inside the hospital and outside of it,
working their tails off every single day.
- My trainees all stepping up to volunteer
to help in the ICU.
- Healthcare professionals everywhere are stepping up
instead of backing down.
- The emergency department staff, now more than ever.
- We've put aside all turf wars
and inter-departmental bickering.
- The fact that the world has set aside its differences
to work on novel treatments, vaccines,
and drugs for this virus.
- The people donating and making supplies.
- Like when we see businesses that stop their work
and start producing equipment for healthcare providers.
- Even famous fashion designers, like Chanel
and Christian Siriano are making masks and gowns.
- The numbers are getting better.
Prevention does work.
- Seeing people on their balconies applauding those
on the frontline gives me hope.
And seeing science working, creating vaccines,
creating treatments is what gives me hope.
- I'm fighting for the hope that one day, very soon,
we overcome this, that we get back to normal life
and don't take the small things for granted again.
- And you know what gives me hope?
The fact that I was able to get over 100
of my physician colleagues to make this video for you.
I usually sign off my videos by saying
stay happy and healthy.
But for this one, let's do something different.
Stay alert, not anxious.
- [Everyone] Alert, not anxious.
Alert, not anxious.